CoTalk

Austin Kirk

CoTalk is a business and tech news mashup channel featuring unique insight, facts, and commentary.

Episodes

  1. 02/20/2023

    SpaceX Tests, Spy Balloons, Bing vs Google, Ai Forensics

    SPACE FLIGHT TESTING  Space X has been conducting static testing of their 33 engine Starship, as part of their preparations for an orbital launch within the next month. 2022 was a record year for Space X with 180 successful rocket launches. The contracts from NASA alone provide funds for cargo transportation, crewed moon landings, Starlink broadband constellation, and more. In 2021, Elon Musk announced a human-crewed Moon voyage with a team of hand-picked artists. Though ambitious, I have concerns that Elon's attention is too divided to ensure safety at Space X. SPY BALLOON AND OTHER UAPs  U.S. and Canadian intelligence officials have been investigating four separate incidents of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs), one of which was identified as a Chinese surveillance balloon. The other three UAPs were shot down by F-22 jets, one off the coast of North Carolina, another in Alaska, and a third over Canada's Yukon. The balloons have been found to be equipped with sophisticated electronic surveillance technology and the NORAD radar system has been powered up to detect future objects. The FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are further examining the debris in an effort to discover their origin and purpose. BING VS GOOGLE AI SEARCH  Microsoft and Google are competing to provide better search experiences using AI technology. Microsoft has taken exclusive license of GPT-3 for $10 billion and created the new Bing search engine with features such as side-by-side AI annotations, speaking directly to the Bing chatbot, and an intuitive AI-powered summarization process. Google has released Bard, which is built on their Language Model for Dialogue Applications, though have had a minor setback due to a public ad featuring Bard giving factual errors. Google has also introduced improved image recognition, 360 degree stitching, AI enhanced maps, expanded augmented reality functions, and more. Both companies are vying for accuracy and user preference, but Google has the edge due to its longer history with AI. AI FORENSIC STARTUP  This article discusses how two software developers, Artur and Filipe, are developing a forensic program that uses the OpenAI DALL-E 2 image generation model for creating police sketches of suspects. It also examines previous attempts to use DNA technology to identify suspects, such as the Edmonton Police Service's experiment with Parabon NanoLabs, which led to the creation of a generic Sims character. The article also discusses the ethical considerations of using AI for forensic purposes, and warns that there could be potential backlash from minority communities if the project were to gain traction.

    SpaceX Tests, Spy Balloons, Bing vs Google, Ai Forensics
  2. 02/20/2023

    Chat GPT in Court, Netflix Passwords, TikTok to Testify, Dyson's new headphones

    ChatGPT IN COURT A Vice article released Feb 3rd states Judge Juan Manuel Padilla Garcia in the First Circuit Court of Cartagena Colombia used ChatGPT to make a court ruling, marking the first time a legal decision (that we know of) was made with the help of Ai. NETFLIX PASWORD CRACKDOWN In March 2022 as a response to a subscriber drop, Netflix attempted to enforce its "household" policy for small markets in Latin America. More recently Netflix Claims It Errantly Posted Password Sharing Rules that would Block Devices Outside of Subscribers’ Homes in U.S. stating The new rules would require subscribers to verify their home devices every month and devices outside of the home could get blocked. TIKTOK TESTIFIES IN MARCH CEO Shou Zi Chew first appearance with the US Energy and Commerce Committee hearing scheduled March 23rd where he will face questioning about TikToks data collection practices. US officials are concerned the Chinese-owned parent company Byte Dance may be forced to share its user data with the Chinese government. In response, Senator Hawley’s No TikTok on Government Devices Act was signed into law last year. DYSONS PURIFIER HEADPHONES Dyson engineers wasted 6 years of their life testing 500 prototypes resulting in an air purification unit neatly shoved inside a set of headphones. Audiophiles can now ditch their outdated analog masks in favor of experiencing urban life through this new $949 headset...

    Chat GPT in Court, Netflix Passwords, TikTok to Testify, Dyson's new headphones

About

CoTalk is a business and tech news mashup channel featuring unique insight, facts, and commentary.